It was a day filled with convoluted reactions at Hendrick Motorsports. The race was officially called after the onset of thunderstorms. Eventually, the young prodigy, William Byron, took the victory and his fourth win for the season home. However, his other three teammates faltered to deliver satisfactory results as they embroiled themselves in on-track incidents.
It was expected that Chase Elliott would be delivering an impeccable performance owing to his desperation to enter the Playoffs and also due to the race being hosted in his hometown. However, the driver became a non-factor and finished 13th in the race. Still, it wasn’t the worst outing from a HMS driver.
Kyle Larson faced the worst of it all. And it seems that Denny Hamlin found the brawl amusing as he revealed his thoughts on the latest episode of Action Detrimental.
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Kyle Larson’s On-Track Drama Becomes a Source of Amusement for Denny Hamlin
Initially, it was William Byron who had found himself struggling on the track of Atlanta Motor Speedway, as he was penalized during his first pit stop and also found himself on the on-field grass after being spun by Corey LaJoie. Naturally, a win seemed to be a bleak affair. On the other hand, it was Kyle Larson who had a good race and was the fastest among all the Chevrolet drivers up until the second stage.
But at the end of the second stage, in Lap 91, Larson was involved in an on-track incident with another fellow Chevrolet driver Erik Jones from Legacy Motor Club. While the HMS speedster tried to put up a good show in the second stage, he was derailed as Jones made contact with Larson.
After witnessing the on-track scuffle between both the Chevrolet drivers, Denny Hamlin, in his podcast, expressed his views to his co-host Jared Allen. Speaking on the context, Allen expressed, “This car was fast and was committed to running in the Highline. He said whoever pulls up in front of me is gonna get it. And they got it.”
To this the No.11 Toyota driver expressed, “And they got it. Kyle Larson, he is not gonna let a line just go past him on one side. He is just gonna pull in front of you. Eric is like alright. If you are in front of me, welcome to the ride.”
Hamlin also exclaimed, “It was fun, I thought that the race was entertaining, some lead changes and the track got better as the race went on. The track became darker and blacker, the rubber need to be laid down, and you didn’t want to run where there wasn’t rubber. I think we were in for a fantastic finish.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin Doesn’t Think Ross Chastain Is Changed Despite Brutal Response To Rick Hendrick
Erik Jones Lays Bare the Facts That Led to the On-Track Incident With Larson
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It was not the first incident of the evening that involved the Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones. But it was the incident with Larson that grabbed the most attention. The incident occurred when Jones made contact with Larson, who was trying to take the higher line, and that eventually led to the #5 Chevrolet being spun.
Larson also blew off his right front tire on his way back from the pit lane. This resulted in complete damage to the right front fender. The Hendrick Motorsports driver finished the race in 36th position, while Jones had a remarkable finish and stood 11th. Nonetheless, speaking on the incident, Jones revealed to Frontstretch, “I think Kyle [Larson] got up in front of me and I let him up and he got loose. As soon as he got loose, I just got into the back of him”
“I obviously don’t wanna turn him around and… I think he would say the same. He got loose by that time I was already side on him and I just couldn’t check up enough to let him gather it up more,” Jones concluded.
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After a disappointing day at Atlanta, which ended with an early retirement, Kyle Larson would surely love to forget Sunday’s race. With the next race in New Hampshire, No.5 Chevrolet driver would try to secure another win before entering the Playoffs on a high note.